England and Sri Lanka prepare for 'hostile' Test series

England captain Alastair Cook and his Sri Lankan opposite number Angelo
Mathews are predicting a "hostile" and "exciting" series ahead of the 1st
Investec Test at Lord's on Thursday

6:02PM BST 11 Jun 2014

Englandare expected to name three debutants, with Sydney-born Sam Robson to open with England captain Alastair Cook, all-rounder Moeen Ali to bat at number six and Chris Jordan one of the pace options.

It is coach Peter Moore's first test back in charge of the England since replacing Andy Flower after the 5-0 Ashes humiliation in Australia.

With Kevin Pietersen's international career over, England have bigger concerns than a controversial runout as they look to rebuild for the future.

"It's an exciting time," Cook said. "Three new caps is a very exciting time and we have a lot of guys with not a lot of experience but then on the other side of the changing room you've got five or six guys who have played close to 100 tests.

"It's quite a big split but the last couple of days [training] have been brilliant."

He backed the newcomers to show that they could be the future of the England side.

"It takes time to feel settled in international cricket, you never feel totally comfortable but you need a bit of experience to know how it works, to feel the difference and the step up from county cricket.

"That can lead to a bit of inconsistency at the start, look at all the senior guys, they've had their ups and downs to get to where they are now.

"There are also guys who have had amazing starts to their careers, hundreds on debuts, five-fors, you're going into the unknown and the opposition don't know that much about you."

Cook said Gary Ballance will bat at three, followed by Ian Bell, Joe Root and Moeen, who will be also expected to chip in at the bowling crease with his part-time off-spin.